Carl Sargeant: Our childcare offer aims to provide working parents of three and four-year-olds with 30 hours of Government-funded education and childcare for up to 48 weeks a year. We will begin piloting the offer in specific areas of seven local authorities from September of this year.
Carl Sargeant: Well, I think this, from an earlier question, is about what housing solutions are fit for the future and what their needs are. I haven’t got an issue with using HMOs if they’re appropriate for new housing solutions. I did visit, with Julie James and Mike Hedges actually, in Swansea, looking at HMO provision. Suzy, you would have been more than welcome, but I wasn’t familiar with your...
Carl Sargeant: We are in discussions with the housing associations in terms of how we will manage this process. I am confident that we will be able to resolve the issue either through legislation or otherwise.
Carl Sargeant: Twice in a day, Mike Hedges. Congratulations to Swansea. It’s great to see the local authority building new council properties. Indeed, in my own authority also in Flintshire, with Hannah Blythyn, we’ve got some successful council properties and people living in there already. We are now starting to see the benefit of the housing revenue account subsidy exit with new council homes being...
Carl Sargeant: Of course. Julie Morgan has championed the rights of the Gypsy/Traveller community for a long time. Welsh Government has funded a Travelling Ahead advice and advocacy service, operating from 1 April to March 2020. The staff who run the programme will be well known to many mid and west Wales community members, which should support the effectiveness of the service. I will give some further...
Carl Sargeant: Thank you for the question. Local authorities have committed to deliver 1,000 new council homes under our new housing pact with the Welsh Local Government Association and Community Housing Cymru.
Carl Sargeant: I thank the Member for his question. I am aware of the Unity project and I’m grateful for the acknowledgement of my official. I did say that he would come with you and he did, and I’m pleased that it was a successful meeting. I too am concerned about the sharing of good practice and the community cohesion that is built up through a programme like this. It is disappointing to say that...
Carl Sargeant: We’ve got a very joined-up Government and we’ve got a very joined-up community in terms of our interventions with local authorities too. I think the Swansea bay city deal is fantastic for that area and, again, it will be about integrated transport solutions and opportunities of employment. The metro concept is a principle of how communities can be joined up even if they’re not directly...
Carl Sargeant: The Welsh Government has commissioned the Travelling Ahead project at Tros Gynnal Plant to deliver a new pan-Wales advice and advocacy service. This service will support Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities to better understand their rights, get good-quality advice and advocacy support, address inequalities, and tackle discrimination.
Carl Sargeant: I’m grateful for the Member’s acknowledgment of the investment that we’ve made in his constituency, and I’ve been around with him on some of those visits. Again, that is another area that has been dramatically turned around by the Government’s investment. The matter of the prison is a matter for the MoJ. The planning system is as appropriate as it is for any other system, whether...
Carl Sargeant: I thank the Member for his question. We are currently developing proposals for a new capital regeneration programme. This will complement other strategic investments already under way and build on the success of earlier schemes.
Carl Sargeant: I think that Swansea city council has done a fantastic job in terms of the way that they’re starting to regenerate their community, and £11.76 million has been issued to Swansea council from the Welsh Government in terms of partnership. Public and private investment, totalling around £69 million up to 2017, will be invested in that community, and we are actually seeing a difference in the...
Carl Sargeant: There are two parts, again, where they will continue with that programme—very successful—but there’s still more to do. I think, again, rather than always building new properties, what we could do is make some interventions of using older properties, if we’re able to make sure that they’re energy efficient and they’re suitable for accommodation. It’s something I’ve asked my...
Carl Sargeant: Well, there are two areas. My team are already in discussion with Ken Skates, and his department, looking at what land we own as Government. We are also having discussions with the health portfolio, to see, again, whether there is any potential for land usage and stock to be installed there. We’ve just launched a £20 million innovation programme for housing schemes. We’re not short of...
Carl Sargeant: I think we’ve had great success in delivering more homes for communities across Wales. We exceeded our target in the last term of Government, with over 11,000, working in partnership with the housing sector. This year, we’ve just signed a compact between the housing sector and local authorities. Our proposals to introduce the end of the right to buy will help ensure that investment made...
Carl Sargeant: We’re still in discussions with the UK Government. I’ve had several conversations, and many exchanges, with the UK Government Ministers on this very issue, about the principles of a scheme here in Wales. Now, we already run a volunteering scheme, and much other support, for young people in Wales. And my question to the Minister in the UK was how this would add value to our contribution...
Carl Sargeant: Well, I would hope that local authorities were able to get into that space of intervention and support for businesses that can demonstrate they’re having a positive impact. I actually visited Flintshire, who are working with the Youth Justice Board on an enhanced case management programme, which has a massive impact on the reduction of reoffending in a very prolific area of reoffenders....
Carl Sargeant: Well, we’ve already started engaging with communities with regard to our longer term vision on the way to have resilient communities. My team have been talking to all the Communities First clusters and their team managers, and with local authorities. We’ve already started work with some organisations around Children First zones, and looking at what that looks like for making sure we get...
Carl Sargeant: As I said earlier on, I think when we introduced the legislation, we were at a point in time where we believed it was the right thing to do. We’ve seen those interventions being very positive. I think now is the time to refresh policy and have a review about what we’re doing in terms of intervention. The evidence is on our streets. We can see people that are homeless and rough sleeping,...
Carl Sargeant: I think when we introduced the legislation around homelessness, we had a fantastic response in terms of a reduction in the numbers, and I pay tribute to local authorities who have been dealing with that. I spoke to Shelter Cymru this morning, and they are very impressed at the pace of the success we’ve had, but I also acknowledge the fact that there have been some other interventions that...
